Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Practice

Gestalt therapy, reality therapy, and person-centered therapy are examples of what type of counseling approach?

1. Cognitive Behavioral

2. Experiential

3. Psychodynamic

4. Behavioral

The correct answer is: Experiential

Gestalt therapy, reality therapy, and person-centered therapy are all considered experiential approaches to counseling. These therapies emphasize the importance of personal experience and subjective perception. In experiential therapy, the focus is on helping clients explore their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in the moment, which can lead to increased self-awareness and personal growth. Gestalt therapy promotes awareness of the present moment and advocates for experiencing feelings without judgment. Reality therapy focuses on making choices that fulfill basic needs and achieving personal responsibility in the here-and-now. Person-centered therapy emphasizes empathy, acceptance, and the client's perspective, fostering an environment where self-exploration can occur. Each of these approaches encourages the expression of feelings and prioritizes the therapeutic relationship, making them effective for clients seeking to understand and connect with their immediate experiences. In contrast, the other options represent different therapeutic frameworks—cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on changing thought patterns to influence emotions and behaviors, psychodynamic therapy emphasizes unconscious processes and past experiences, and behavioral therapy concentrates on changing Observable behaviors through reinforcement strategies. Understanding the differences among these approaches helps clarify the role of experiential therapy in the broader field of counseling.